Blue Radicals
by Zero Wheeler
Summary: When new groups of racers are invited by vert wheeler to take part in a new series of races, will they survive. wondering if i should finish this story? any thoughts?
1. Prologue

**Vehicle list**

Owner-------------------Car's name---------Car

Mark Torrino------------Drift fury----------1986 Toyota corolla Levin

Johnny Torrino------------------------------1996 Mazda rx-7

**Speed Radicals**

**Prologue**

"Go on now push down on the clutch and go up a gear" My father stated while sat in the passenger seat. My hand quivered as I pulled the gear stick down into second. I slowly took my foot off the clutch and brushed the accelerator. It felt uncomfortable driving, all the other ten year old kids where jumping in the mud, what was I doing. Driving. Although it was a skill I could use, it felt strange to be driving at the age of ten.

As time passed I got better, by the age of eleven I could drive as well as an adult who had passed there test. My father then forced me to drive faster,

"it's okay to drive fast son" he stated one day. It didn't really take much, I enjoyed going fast. Once I had got to this stage my father began to give me reading to do. Many books about: car design; car manufacture; driving techniques and many more. I read through them keenly learning about drive trains and how weight distribution would affect a car. I also learned in particular about two cars. One was my fathers car a 1996 Mazda Rx7, the other was a 1986 Toyota corolla. I thought the second of these cars was strange seeing as I hadn't even seen one of these cars in my life. Even though I didn't know why I studied hard, it seemed I learned more about cars than anything that I learned in school.

My twelfth birthday came and I got the shock of my life. I was ready to go on a drive with my dad but when I went to get in the car. He shook his head.

"Over here son" he stated, I looked and there was a sheet covering what I assumed was a car. My dad pulled the sheet off to reveal a metallic silver Toyota corolla, the Levin model my eyes widened. "Wow" I stated gleefully,

"Its yours son" my father said casually. I looked at him, I finally mustered the words.

"But dad I'm only twelve, its illegal" I said in a strange tone that sounded like someone else had spoke it. My father shrugged,

"Lets go" he said throwing the keys to me. I opened the door and jumped into the drivers seat. I drove out of the drive rather quickly, the car sliding slightly as I turned onto the road. I followed the normal route but as I came to a harsh turn that I usually slowed down for, my dad turned to me.

"Don't slow down as much as usual" he stated. I didn't answer but heard what he said. I quickly thought through everything I had read, what could do this turn without slowing down…

The answer came to me quickly, Drifting. The car needed to be rear wheel drive to have the best chance of success at a drift. Thinking once more. The 1986 Toyota Corolla was rear-wheel drive. A small smile crossed my face. I moved to the other side of the road, I dropped a gear and quickly swung back just at the start if the hairpin. My car slid perfectly, I turned the wheel the other way quickly. The car began to move around the corner while facing the inside of the turn. I kept my eyes on the distance between the front of the car and the rail. It was getting closer. Quickly. I turned the wheel more and the car straightened out and then swung the other way. I gripped the wheel for dear life and shut my eyes. I didn't open them again until my dads hands came to rest on my shoulders. I slowly opened my eyes, the car was facing the opposite direction. It hadn't hit the barrier but it had been close. My dad quickly got me out of the drivers seat and put me in the passenger seat. I pulled my knees up to my head covering my face. My dad then drove home.

When I got to fourteen and a half I participated in my first race. I came close second, I still received a good sum of money but was slightly disappointed that I had lost. I had about seven more races up until I was a week away from being sixteen. I had joined a racing team a week earlier. The other three people in the team where Chris, Jason and Adam. I was walking home and when I got to my house there was a police car outside. An officer stood at my front door. I walked up to him, he had a strange look on his face. "Do you live here" he asked sternly.

"Yes I do" I replied rather quickly. He looked over me,

"May we come in, I'm afraid we have some bad news for you" He replied. My face dropped and we entered the front room. I sat in a comfy chair while they both sat on the couch.

"I don't know how to put this but your parents where involved in an accident" he stated. I felt tears well in my eyes.

"Your mother was killed instantly and your father died on the way to hospital. There was nothing anyone could do" he continued.

I stood up quickly and ran, tears streaming down my face. I locked myself in my room, sliding my bed in the way of the door. I grabbed all my clothes and shoved them into a bag. I took almost everything from my room and stuffed it into my bag. The final thing I grabbed was my wallet containing $200. I was still crying but proceeded out of my window. I dropped holding my bag. I then unlocked my car. I jumped in and drove away quickly. I returned to my house after two days and took everything I could. I then used the savings my dad had hidden to buy myself a small apartment. I also sold his car to give myself some more money until a race came up…


	2. Chapter 1

**Vehicle list**

OwnerCar's nameCar

Zero--------------Night shade-------1972 Plymouth barracuda

-------------------Street Fury--------1970 Ford Torino

Chris--------------Death Rage-------2002 Vauxhall Vectra

Rick---------------Light streak-------2005 Dodge Neon

Crystal------------spring rain--------1997 Toyota Supra mark 4

**Speed Radicals**

**Chapter 1**

I drifted around a corner and the finish line came into my view. I slammed my foot down, forcing my car to its limits. I raced across the finish line, closely followed by a member of the black panthers in a silver car. I jumped out of my car keeping my helmet on, I then walked towards James, he handed me a huge amount of money. "Thanks" I said casually.

"You earned it, you're doing well only being eighteen" he replied. I nodded quickly and then returned to my car, I heard sirens. I quickly restarted my car and drove off into the night. Two police cars began to chase me. I let a small grin come over my face. I slowed down. The two cars got either side of me. A third car appeared and slowed down boxing me in. I put my foot down forcing the car at the front away. I then forced my car sideways, one car was sent into a wall causing little damage. The final car hit me putting a dent in the side of my car. I pulled the handbrake, the police car went forwards. I raced after him, I then rammed him forcing him forwards. I smashed his car into a wall and then raced off again arriving at the street radicals garage.

I parked my car and looked over the damage. There was a huge dent on the right side of my car preventing the door from opening. Another dent on the front of my car had caused the engine to leak. I slammed my fist into the wall. The engine had been a custom job, my car was completely wrecked, I looked around the garage. The only other car around was Light streak, Chris's car. Something moved nearby, Chris appeared covered in oil. "Hi Zero, did you win" he asked. I nodded quickly and took the bundle of money out of my pocket.

"There was a problem though" I said. Chris cut me off

"you challenged the cops again, come on you've got to just calm down" I nodded slowly knowing that he was right.

"We'll have to get you a new car" he thought for a second and then continued "we need to get you a stronger car" Crystal suddenly arrived in the garage. She got out of her car swinging her long blue hair as she removed her helmet.

"Chris third gears holding for too long" she said angrily,

Chris looked at her car and then quickly replied

"I'll fix it in a sec" Crystal looked over at my car with her ice blue eyes

"you trashed Street fury!" she screeched. I nodded slowly, Chris seemed to still be thinking

"We'll get you a Dodge" Crystals mouth dropped open.

"But I've always wanted a viper, and you said we couldn't afford one" I shook my head and gave a small laugh.

"Chris means a challenger, but I'm sure we can afford a viper as well" Chris looked at the money I had handed him and then nodded slowly.

"We'll get them then" he quickly walked over to his laptop and ordered a Dodge viper and a Dodge Challenger.

"What are you going to do with Spring Rain" I asked Crystal,

"I suppose I'll leave it here" she replied.

"Hey Chris" I said casually "get me a black Charger and don't customise it" Chris looked at me and nodded

"You're going to do it yourself" He replied. I walked back over to Crystal

"Did you win your race" I asked her, she shook her head, then looked up at me with tears in her eyes. I knew what had happened, they had ganged up on her and scared her out of racing

"Which one was it" I said while putting on my racing gloves, she shook her head

"don't do it" she said sadly grabbing hold of my shirt.

"listen they're pushing you around and I care too much about you to let them say or do anything to you. Just tell me who it was, i'm heading up there anyway" She shook her head again and then ran back over to her car.

"Yo Chris can you get hold of Rick" Chris turned quickly,

"you two are going to fight them again" He turned back and grabbed his phone "here you ring him I'm busy" I picked up the phone and dialled Rick's number.

"Hi Chris what's up" he said casually

"Hi Rick its Zero, The Streaks have been pushing Crystal around again" I replied quickly "Are you in" I continued.

"Yep" Rick said, the line then went dead.

"Chris can I borrow your car" I stated, Chris jumped up and grabbed his keys, he threw them to me

"Don't damage it Zero, I've put in too much wrench time" he shouted to me. I walked over to Death Rage, Chris's lightning blue Vauxhall Vectra. I jumped in and drove to the other garage, it was hidden in an alley. Ricks favourite place. I parked outside, moments later Rick appeared in his newly finished car Light Streak, a Dodge Neon completely customized.

We both got ready "Let's go this time I'm not letting them get away" I said an evil tone in my voice. Rick looked over at me

"Let's take them down" He replied. We drove to there garage, I parked outside and hopped out of my car. I walked into the garage closely followed by Rick. One guy saw us

"hey…" I swung at his throat, sending him to the floor gasping before he could finish a sentence. I dropped onto his knees and said quietly "do you remember what I said I'd do if you cheated her again" He didn't reply. I got up off his knees, he tried to get up but I swung my foot snapping his knee

"you won't race for a long time" I said quietly. I turned to see Rick break the leaders nose. I walked into the back, two people ran towards me, I swung my leg catching the one on my left in his stomach. I turned to the one on my right and punched him in the face. They both fell to the floor, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see a fist coming at my face, suddenly the person stopped and flew backwards. Rick had grabbed him and threw him. Rick looked at me and then we went over to there cars and began to tear them apart. After ten minutes we stopped and walked out the team members where all unconscious we left casually and got back in our cars

"is one of them missing" Rick asked, I nodded slowly.

"Craigs missing but whatever, are you coming back to the other garage or are you finishing off light streak at your garage" Rick seemed to think for a moment and then turned back to me

"I'll have to go to the main garage Chris has some parts for me" We both got in our cars and drove back to the main garage. I parked Chris's car and then passed his keys back to him

"it's running great" I said casually. Chris let out a small laugh, Rick walked over to Chris and began to talk. I however walked over to Crystals parking bay but her supra was missing.

"Chris where's my old car, have you scrapped it yet" I asked casually, Chris continued to talk to Rick but pointed towards the back of the garage.

I went outside, grabbing my old cars keys as I went past. I saw my old car night shade, a black Hemi Cuda. I jumped in and started it up. 'It still runs perfectly' I thought, I drove out of the garage. I headed straight for the coast road, I got there and saw Crystals car parked next to a Red Subaru Impreza. I knew that car it was Craig's. I slowed my car down and parked it behind a rock formation, I silently walked over to the cars and looked in nobody was in them. I then heard a scream, it was Crystal. I ran forwards seeing her on the floor at the edge of the cliff being held down by Craig. I ran forwards and swung my leg without giving chance for a second thought, Craig was thrown backwards. I lifted up Crystal, she clung to me.

"Hey Craig, I've got something for you" I yelled, he got up off the floor and looked at me strangely. "The same amount of pain that your guys are in" I continued. I ran forwards, Crystal released her grip on me. I swung my fist plunging it deep into Craig's stomach, he fell to the floor, coughing violently. His eyes wide open. I turned and walked back to Crystal, she put her arms around me

"thank you" she said softly. I didn't reply but I let a smile cross my face, I helped her into her car.

"Do you need a ride" she said calmly, I continued walking towards Craig's car

"No I've got Night shade over there" I said pointing to my car. I broke the window of Craig's car and then popped the hood. I grabbed hold of the opened hood and pulled extremely hard, I heard the hinges snap. I stumbled backwards but managed to stay standing. I threw the hood over the edge of the cliff. I then walked over to his car again and ripped out the main wiring and threw that over the cliff as well. Crystal watched me strangely,

"why did you do that" she asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"I warned them the next time they mess with you I'd wreck there cars among other things" I said with no remorse, "I'm sorry if I scared you" I continued allowing a comforting tone to enter my voice. I walked over to night shade and jumped in, We drove back to the garage and parked our cars again. I got out of my car and looked over it casually.

"still runs like a charm" I muttered to myself.

I stood up and walked over to Crystal who had been tampering with her engine. I stood next to her leaning against the wall waiting for her to finish. She turned to me

"Thank you for saving me but why did you get so angry" she said, I looked at her for a second

"I don't want anything to happen to you, to anyone I care about" I stated.

"Let me walk you home" I said calmly, she nodded slowly. We locked our car bays, I then turned to Chris and Rick

"see you guys tomorrow" I said. Rick looked up from his car and nodded slightly and Chris just waved his hand. Crystal didn't say anything she just walked out of the garage, I jogged out and caught up to her and then continued to walk by her side. We didn't talk for a while, until I noticed she was shivering in the cold October night. I put my Black racing jacket over her, she looked up at me again "thank you" She said in her soothing voice, she lent against me and we continued walking until I heard a familiar sound an engine, a rotary engine. Only one team had that type of engine.

"Hide" I said pushing Crystal towards an alley. I turned quickly to see a silver car coming towards me, It had black panther vinyl on the side I turned towards it knowing who it was.

Two people got out of the car, One was an old friend of mine Eric, the leader of the black panthers. The other was James the member who I had beaten only an hour earlier. They both walked towards me.

"Hi Zero" Eric said casually.

"Hi Eric, haven't seen you for a while" I answered. Eric put his hand in his pocket and then handed me a card.

"It's in a month" he said before turning and walking back to his car. "Thanks Eric" I said calmly. James hadn't walked away yet, he was scowling at me.

"If you want to fight me bring it on" I stated with no fear in my voice.

"James come on" Eric yelled, James turned and I smiled at Eric. They then drove straight on.

I turned and carried on walking, they drove past and I stopped and turned to Crystal, she walked back out into the street. I put my arm around her once more and we began to walk again.

"what was that about" she asked seeming slightly worried.

"It's about the ultimate race, it happens in one month" I said slowly. "Route 66" she said quietly. I nodded. After five minutes we arrived at her house. She opened her door and walked in, she turned and handed me my jacket.

"See you tomorrow" I said quietly she seemed hesitant to let me leave,

"bye" she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. I returned to my house, I locked my door behind me and then walked upstairs and into my bedroom, I turned on my PC and began to order parts for my Dodge Challenger. I then lay on my bed and fell almost instantly to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Vehicle list**

OwnerCar's name Car

Zero---------------Hellhound Roar---------1973 Dodge Challenger r/t

--------------------Street Fury--------------1970 Ford Torino

Crystal------------Blizzard Storm----------2002 Dodge Viper

Rachel------------Steel Fury---------------2004 Nissan 350Z roadster

Chris--------------Death Rage--------------2002 Vauxhall Vectra

-------------------Crimson Streak----------2000 Honda Civic

Rick---------------Light streak--------------2005 Dodge Neon

**Speed Radicals**

**Chapter 2**

I awoke the next morning groggily, I jumped up and quickly got ready for another day of work. I put on my Jeans, a black t-shirt, and my racing jacket. I went into my bathroom and looked over myself in the mirror, I made sure my medium length blue hair was straight and then I left for the garage. It was 6.30 and a mist covered the ground, I arrived at the garage which strangely was open. I walked in to see Chris, "Here early as usual I see" I said. Chris looked up "morning Zero, some parts arrived for you I put them in your bay" he replied. I looked over to see the many cardboard boxes holding the parts for my car. "Hey Chris, When will my Challenger arrive" Chris looked up from his car, he then thought for a second "They both arrive at eleven today" he said, I nodded in response and then went over to my car bay. There where now two cars in there, I hopped into my Torino and reversed it so half of it was in my bay and the other half was hanging out. Chris walked over to me

"Zero, this letter just arrived here for you" he said handing me a brown sealed envelope, his eyes wandered over the envelope. It was hand written, I quickly opened the envelope, the letter inside was also hand written.

Zero

Please come to the southern end of route 66 at 2.30 on Thursday 23rd October, I need to talk to you.

Vert

I read it wondering who this Vert thought he was, acting like the famous racer but still how did he know who I was and why did he give me such short notice.

"Yo Chris you said my cars coming in at eleven, you think you can help me finish it by two" Chris looked at me strangely and then decided

"it can't be done" He replied casually.

"We can do it, I don't need a new engine or any fancy parts" I stated. Chris looked at me

"Ok we can do it but it will still be close" He said. I nodded and returned to my bay. I stripped down Street Fury and Night Shade. I finished tearing up my cars and then looked up at the clock it read 10.10. I drove both of my wrecked cars into the back of the garage. I climbed out and walked over to Chris,

"Both of my cars are stripped down now I just need to head up for my challenger and crystals viper" Chris took a set of keys out of his pocket, and handed them to me. I looked at them, Chris turned to me once again and said

"that's for the Truck around the back" I nodded slowly,

"See you later" I said casually.

I walked around the back of the garage to see the new truck Chris had bought. I jumped in and headed for the coast Import service. I turned up the system and drove down the road listening to Eve 6. I arrived at the import lot, turning off the truck. I walked in to see a familiar face, a young girl known as Rachel walked towards me

"Hi Zero, what was your order" I handed over the paper smiling

"How have you been Rachel" I replied casually. She looked over the paper.

"I've been fine and I heard that you've been winning your races, how's my brother" She said, I nodded slowly in reply.

"he's fine" I replied, she finished reading he form and then said

"A Dodge viper and a Dodge challenger, you and my brother I presume" I shook my head

"Me and Crystal, Rick's racing a Dodge Neon" I replied casually.

"When are you gonna come and join the team, I've asked you twice and I know you're a good driver" She shrugged and then walked out the back, I followed her as usual.

"Are these the two" she said indicating two dodge's. Challenger in night black and the Viper in powder blue.

"Yep those are the two, anyway where's your car. I haven't seen street thunder anywhere" I asked looking around.

"I traded it for a stock Nissan 350Z" she replied.

"Help me get the dodges in the truck and then we'll take your car and get it upgraded" I replied. She seemed hesitant but the nodded.

We drove the three cars into the truck. We then both got into the truck and headed back to the garage. We arrived at the garage and firstly I drove the Nissan into the garage. Chris looked up strangely at this, I climbed out

"we've got a new member" Chris stood up and walked outside. Rachel drove the powder blue dodge into the garage. Chris looked at me "Rachel agreed to join the team" I nodded and then walked outside and drove my black dodge into my bay.

"Yo Rick" I yelled, Rick appeared from his bay and ran up and hugged his sister.

"Hey big brother" Rachel said. I gave a small laugh

"Rick while your in such a good mood you can help your sister" I said. Rick looked at me strangely

"You can help her upgrade her car, you can use any of the parts out of my bay if you need to" I continued. Rick nodded slowly

"What about you and Chris" he asked, Chris walked over

"well we need to get his dodge up and running" We walked into my bay and began to upgrade my car.

"Chris you work on tuning the engine, I'm gonna work on the electronics" We continued working on the car until 1 o'clock. We stopped for a while admiring the work. Crystal came into the garage "hi guys" she said ecstatically as she had seen her new car. I walked out of my bay, Crystal ran up and threw her arms around me.

"It's ok" I said casually "can you do flame graphics on my car" I asked her. She looked at me

"Can't I work on my car first" I looked at her pleadingly

"I've got something I need to do in an hour, my car needs to be ready by then" She nodded and then went into the back. We then continued to work on my car, me and Chris where removing the back seats and installing two 5 litre bottles of NOS, and Crystal was airbrushing the graphics on the hood. I looked up at the clock we had half an hour left.

"Chris you think we can get the body kit on" I questioned. He looked at the clock,

"If we hurry" I quickly went over to the parts and grabbed my Back and front spoilers. I handed the front to Chris who quickly started to screw it on, I went to the back of my car and began to attach my back spoiler. We then both attached one side skirt each and my car was nearly finished.

"Guys I better get going" I stated. I jumped in my car and started it up. The engine sounded great a smooth roar erupted from the internal systems.

I left the garage and headed straight for route 66. I turned on the stereo system I had built in, two 12'' subs, two 14'' subs and one 18''. I turned the volume up to full and carried on driving. On my way there I decided that this Vert wanted to race me, seeing as I was a racer and we where heading to route 66. 'Soon enough I'll find out I suppose' I thought. I suddenly noticed that I was being followed. I don't like being followed. I stopped at a garage, the other car stopped as well. I got out cracking my knuckles and then my neck. It was a Silver Nissan 350Z, two people got out of the car. It was Rachel and Crystal, "why did you come after me" I asked, Crystal smiled and then replied

"if you can worry about me I can worry about you" I nodded slowly.

"Anyway where are we going" Rachel asked

"I'm going to the end of route 66, you should go back" I stated. Crystal shook her head. I let out a low sigh. We all got back in our cars and continued to drive. We arrived at the southern end of route 66 a few minutes early.

We parked at a diner and sat at a table outside so we could watch anyone going past. 2.30 came and went, I was ready to give up when a car I recognized pulled up. It was a blue car with orange vinyls. It was a completely custom made car and it happened to be the one used by Vert wheeler to win the World Series. My mind suddenly Changed, Vert who sent my letter was the famous racer Vert Wheeler. He got out of his car looking slightly older than the last time I had seen him race. He walked towards my table and sat down

"hi Mark" he said calmly. Rachel and Crystal stared at him strangely "there's no one here called Mark" Crystal said. Vert looked at her then back at me.

"So you haven't told them who you really are" he said calmly.

"No I haven't but I would like to know how you know who I really am and I'm not too happy about being dragged out here even if you are rich and famous" I replied sternly. Vert shrugged, "Come on answer my question, how do you know my real name and what do you want to talk to me about" I repeated the anger in my voice rising.

"Well I know who you really are because" he stopped for a moment he seemed.

"I am your Uncle" everyone looked up strangely at this.

"You can't be I would have known" I spluttered, suddenly a great weight dropped in my chest.

"No Mark, I tried to send you a letter when your parents died but you had already left, but enough about the past I want you to come along including your teammates, to my house. We have important things to discuss but its better to tell everyone who's involved" Vert stated. I nodded slowly,

"Anyway I've got to go, here's the directions to my house" he stated handing me a piece of paper

"tomorrow at about noon" he finished before driving off.

"Come on Rachel can you take Crystal back, I've got somewhere I need to go" I didn't wait for an answer I just got in my car and drove away. I had noticed that when he had been leaving he had tears in his eyes.

"Now people are gonna say that my racing abilities come from him" I muttered to myself. I turned up the speakers, the silence was getting to me. I drove out onto the desert road. I saw another car driving down the road. It skidded around next to me, normally I would have stopped but today was different, today I was angry. I drove on shifting up a gear and putting my foot down. The driver of the other car apparently wasn't happy, he began to chase me. I waited until he was only a short distance behind me. I turned hard and put the handbrake on for a brief moment. My car skidded to a halt on the other side of their car facing the other way. I opened my door and got out of my car. The car stopped a short distance behind my car, they reversed to line themselves up with me. The driver leant out of his car

"Want to race" he said cockily. I looked at him

"Racing you would be a complete joke" I shouted while seeing how low budget his car was. He attempted to get out of his car, I let the door open slightly, until his feet where on the floor. I then kicked the door hard into him, his body was forced backwards, his head hitting the roof. I got back in my car, swung it round their car and then carried on driving. I arrived at the garage in a much better mood than before.

Rachel came out "You seem a lot happier" she said quickly.

"Yeh I kinda got into a fight" I replied, she looked at me sceptically but then shrugged and walked back to her car.

I parked my car and then walked over to Chris.

"have they told you" I asked, Chris nodded

"so where all going up to Vert's house tomorrow" he answered,

"I wonder why Vert chose to tell you" he continued. 'So they didn't mention that I'm related to Vert' I thought. I raised my car on a platform and began to remove the tires.

"Yo Chris have we got any mashimotto zx tires around" I asked,

"I think we have some in the back on Crimson Streak" he replied. I walked into the back looking for Crimson Streak, it was well hidden, the brilliant crimson colour right at the back of the room. I looked at the tires, I raised it on a platform in the back and removed the tires, I walked back out carrying the tires.

"Chris can you get me a new set of these, I don't think they'll last long with me" I stated. Chris didn't answer, I continued to work on my car. I finished putting on the tires and went into the back looking for rims. I ended up choosing a set of Mana Brooklyn rims, I finished putting them on my car. I began attaching red neon lights to the interior and exterior.

I looked up at the clock when I had finished it was 7.40. I had to finish my car before tomorrow afternoon. 'I will impress Vert' I thought.

"Chris did you get the new helmets" I asked.

"Yeah all custom built except for Rachel's I had to order hers afterwards, why did u want to know" He replied,

"I want to make sure they go with the racing outfits" I replied. Rick came out of his bay

"but we never wear our racing outfits" Rick said quickly,

"We are going to Vert Wheeler's house. The way he was talking yesterday it seems that other racers are going to be there" They all seemed to understand. I grabbed my racing outfit. Black Jacket with Zero written graffiti style on the back. Black pants with flames coming up from the bottom. Black trainers and finally my helmet Black with flames coming from the front with a red tinted Visor. My helmet was the most important part, the bottom piece could slide up with the visor to leave my face visible. It had a micro computer in it, the visor's right-most side acted as a screen, it held information about my car for when I was racing. I had never used it so far. I checked they all fit and then put them back into my locker. I returned to my car and continued upgrading it.

By 10 o'clock, I had installed racing seats, fitted a new exhaust, put in a third tank of NOS, fitted new black tinted windows, fitted my laptop and fitted a new hood that had a piece missing in the middle and finally removed the engine. All I had to do now was install my new engine tomorrow.

"Chris is my engine still due to arrive tomorrow morning" I asked, Chris tapped a few keys on his laptop and then answered

"yep its actually going to arrive early, it will be here by about 4.30 tomorrow morning"

"I'm going to stay here tonight if that's Ok with you" I replied.

"Sure, I'm staying anyway. I have to finish my car and I said I'd check over Crystal and Rachel's cars" he answered. Rick appeared from his bay again

"I'm gonna stay as well but I'm gonna have to take the truck to the other garage and bring some parts" Rick stated casually. Chris handed him the keys and he went outside heading for the truck. "well do you want to work on your car and I'll look over Crystal and Rachel's cars, I mean I've got nothing else to do" I replied Chris nodded handing me two sets of keys. I walked over to Crystals bay and looked at her car she had put the vinyl's on it herself. It was now an ice blue at the front going through to a dark blue at the back. It had silver-blue tear graphics and on the bonnet was her name "Crystal". I popped the hood and looked at the engine, she hadn't touched it. "Chris did you do Crystals engine" I yelled, he came around and looked at the engine,

"she said she was going to do it herself" he replied. I flicked out my phone and phoned crystals number, she answered groggily "hello"

"Crystal, its Zero what are you doing about your engine" I asked,

"I asked Rick to do it for me because I had to leave" She answered

"Ok he's probably gonna bring it back, Sorry for waking you. I'll see you tomorrow bye"

"It's ok, see you later" she replied.

"Apparently Rick was going to do it" I said, Chris shrugged and walked back to his car and was trying to finish his car.

Rick returned in the truck and took out all the parts. "Yo Rick, Have you got an engine for Crystal's car" I asked. He nodded slowly

"Yeah I'm gonna fix it up now"

"Ok I'll just check over the inside can you check over the rest of the external parts" I asked tiredly. Rick nodded already taking out the old engine.

"Chris I'm gonna lock the front door" I said. I walked over to the set of double shutters. I pulled them both down and locked them both. I returned to Crystal's car, She had already installed three 2 litre bottles of NOS, She had also installed a full sound system but the seats where still the same. I removed them and then replaced them with ice blue racing seats. I then began to installing internal blue neon lights, I finished of her car by installing blue neon lights under her car.

"Hey Rick, where'd Rachel go" I asked. He looked up

"She's asleep in my car, she knew we had to do hers" he replied. I Walked over to Rachel's car, I turned and walked back over to Rick, "what does she want on this car" I said, Rick turned "I'm not sure, we can either wait till tomorrow to put the graphics on it or surprise her" I nodded and then returned to Rachel's car. I decided to wait for her to decide the outside. I decided to fix everything she couldn't attack me for doing.

I replaced the engine, the flywheel, the gearbox, the exhaust, the tires and the windows. To finish off her car I installed two 11'' subs, two 13'' subs, one 16'' and two 3 litre tanks of NOS. I looked up at the clock 12.30, I walked to my own car and sat in drivers seat, I fell almost instantly to sleep. I awoke to a beeping noise coming from my car's clock, I slowly got out and looked around, it appeared that everyone was asleep. I walked out of the front door of the garage, there was a white truck heading towards the garage. It stopped outside and a man in blue overall's got out, he walked over to me "Is this your engine I've got" he said in a gruff and a little ticked off voice.

"Yep, and I think you've got a body kit for a Nissan 350Z for us as well" I said handing over the delivery form. He looked over it and then nodded.

"Yep can you just sign these forms then" he said handing me a form. I quickly signed it and handed it back to him. He went to the back of his truck and grabbed a huge box. I walked up and took the box from him, I took it inside struggling because of the weight. I went back outside to see him carrying two long boxes, I took them from him and carried them inside. I turned and he had entered the garage carrying three more boxes, he put them down. "Thank you" I said casually, he yawned and then waved. He returned to his truck and drove away.

I picked up the box containing my new engine. I lifted it and walked into my bay. I opened the box to see a gleaming brand new chrome finished engine. I grabbed hold of either side of the engine, slowly I carried it over to the workbench in my bay. I pulled A set of chains down and attached them to the engine. I popped the hood of my car and slowly lowered the engine into it, I attached everything up and then finally stood back to admire my work. The external super charger gleamed. I closed the hood and sat back down in my car, falling asleep once again. When I awoke it was 10.15. I got out of my car and looked around: Rick and Rachel where fitting a body kit onto Rachel's car; Chris was in the paint bay re-spraying his car and crystal was using Chris's laptop to programme the sound system in her car. I walked over to Crystal,

"hey, what's the latest" I asked groggily.

"well I'm just getting the perfect sync between my neon lights and the music beat" she replied.

"Once I've finished can you setup my NOS, you know I can never get it right" she continued, I nodded laughing slightly

"I'll do it don't worry" I grabbed hold of my laptop and went back over to my car realising I hadn't setup my NOS. I wired the laptop onto my on board computer, I rebooted my system and began to rewrite all the internal functions of my car. Once I had finished I got out of my car and lowered my suspension by 1.34 inches. I walked back over to crystal and began to programme her NOS system. When I had finished it was 11.00.

My phone suddenly began to ring. I didn't know the number, I flicked it open "hello"

"Hello Mark" Vert's voice said

"Hi Vert, what's up"

"Mark can you come early I need to speak to you alone about something"

"Sure I'll leave now and I'll tell the team to arrive at twelve Ok"

Vert seemed to think for a moment

"Can you bring Crystal with you, there's someone here who wants to see her"

"Sure, see you in a bit"

"Bye" he said, the line then went dead.

I walked over to Crystal "Is your car ready" I asked quickly. She turned back to her laptop screen

"Yep, why do you ask" she replied.

"Vert wants us to go to his house early" I stated,

"All of us, I wonder why" She replied.

"No not all of us just me and you, he wants to talk to me and there's someone there who wants to talk to you. She nodded slowly, seemingly wondering who wanted to see her.

"Guys, we have to head somewhere, we'll see you guys at Vert's at twelve" I shouted over the noise in the garage. Chris didn't turn but waved his hand above his head.


	4. Chapter 3

**Vehicle list**

OwnerCar's name Car

Zero--------------Hellhound Roar---------1973 Dodge Challenger r/t

Crystal------------Blizzard Storm---------2002 Dodge Viper

Rachel-------------Steel Fury-------------2004 Nissan 350Z roadster

Chris--------------Crimson Streak--------2000 Honda Civic

--------------------Death Rage------------2002 Vauxhall Vectra

Rick---------------Light streak------------2005 Dodge Neon

**Speed Radicals**

**Chapter 3**

I put my racing outfit on and then I jumped into my car and started it up, I revved it once and everyone turned around, the sound coming out of my car was immense, it shocked me for a brief moment.

"Guys meet Hellhound Roar" I yelled. I looked into my mirror, Crystal was in her car ready to leave. I raced out of the garage closely followed by Crystal. I sped up following my GPS system. My laptop's screen flickered, a window opened and Crystals face appeared

"Are you gonna slow down or do I have to find this place by myself" She said scornfully.

"Sorry, I just wanted to test my car, I'll slow down" I replied. The window closed down and my screen returned to normal. I put my foot lightly on the brake, I looked in my mirror. Crystals car appeared and she drove up to the side of me and stopped. I nodded at her and then carried on driving, slower than before. After 20 minutes of driving and three race challenges, we arrived. There where huge gates blocking his mansion from the outside world. I stopped my car, Crystal once again stopped next to me. I got out and walked up to the intercom. I pushed the button,

"hello, is anyone there" I asked casually. I waited hearing nothing but static

"Listen if these gates don't open I'm ramming through them just to come in there and kick your ass" I said with more anger than before. The static stopped and a voice came through

"Hello, what do you want" the voice said, I looked over at Crystal she shrugged at me "

I want you to open the gate" I replied.

"Who are you" He asked, I was beginning to get extremely angry

"I'm Zero now let me in" I shouted at the Box.

"Master Vert has no one coming in called Zero" the voice stated.

I grabbed the wrench out of my car and jammed it into the gate and tried to prise it open. I then heard Crystal

"Hi I'm Crystal and the other person here is Mark" she said, 'shit, he'd have me down under my real name' I thought. The gate opened and I fell through onto the floor, I stood up quickly and got back in my car.

"well done Crystal" I said casually. We drove up to the house and stopped outside the front door. The moment we stopped, the huge doors of the house opened, I stepped out of my car and Vert ran towards me. His arms went around me, I put one arm around his back and then whispered

"you can only get away with that once" he let out a small laugh.

"shall we go inside" he said. I got out my car keys and pressed the button. My car automatically locked, Crystal had already done the same and was walking towards me. When she got to me I put my arm around her and we proceeded inside following Vert.

When we got inside he indicated a room on his left, opening the door for us.

"Go on in" he stated calmly, there where two voices coming from inside the room. We walked in slowly, I recognized the two people immediately. The first was tall and had black spiked up hair it was Markie Wylde I had been named after him. The second also had black hair and was shorter than his brother Kurt Wylde. They turned when we entered the room, Kurt walked straight towards us. He wrapped his arms around Crystal who seemed to be extremely shocked by this, as was I. Kurt looked at her and seemed to realise this, he let go of her and turned to Vert.

"Vert you didn't tell her did you" Kurt said sternly, he turned back to Crystal

"The truth of the matter is that I… I am your father and Mark here is your uncle" He said, Crystal after the initial shock, broke down into tears. I however turned to him

"How does you being Crystals father make me her uncle" I said the shock spreading through my voice. Kurt looked at me strangely

"I meant my brother" he said, Wylde walked over and regarded me trying to scare me I suppose but I stared straight back at him. "Who are you" he said in his obnoxious tones. I turned to Vert who nodded slowly.

"My name is Zero" I stated. Wylde and Kurt both looked at me strangely and then looked at Vert.

"Vert, who is he" Kurt asked.

"His name is Mark Torreto and if you remember correctly, that is the same second name as my sister" He answered "He is my nephew"

They both seemed shocked

"anyway I assume you want a good talk with your daughter and I need to talk to my nephew" Vert continued his words seeming forced. I turned to Crystal who was still kneeling on the floor her hands covering her face.

"Are you Ok" I asked, once more putting my arm around her. For a moment she didn't answer but then she finally said

"I'll stay here there are things I need to know" I stood up and then lifted her up. Vert then put his hand on my shoulder, I nodded and we left the room.

We stood in the hall of his house talking "Listen, I'm sorry about not reaching you for those three years" he said with a slight shakiness to his voice.

"You don't have to apologize" I said calmly. He shook his head

"I do, I tried to reach you but when I didn't get a reply I started to get worried, I didn't hear from you and I couldn't reach you at home" he said.

"I bought my own house closer to my teams garage and was a racer from then on" I replied. Vert had his head in his hands

"I wish I could have talked to you. I saw you race once though, I was going to walk over but cops turned up" I looked at him with a smile on my face

"you saw me race" I asked, he nodded "well I thank you for that" I said while putting my arm around his back.

"I couldn't ask for more" I continued. He smiled at me, we both stood up and then I heard a voice from upstairs

"Vert is that him" a woman's voice yelled. Vert turned and nodded, a woman with long brown hair ran down the curving stairs. She grabbed hold of me and pulled me into a hug.

"please Stop Choking can't breathe need air" I said in one breath. She let go,

"I'm sorry" she said calmly "but I've wanted to see you, for a long time" I stared at her still wondering who she was. Vert turned to me "this is my wife Lani" he said. I nodded slowly,

"are they on there way" Vert asked his wife casually.

"Yeah most of them should be turning up soon, the only people who said they are going to be late are Shirako, Diezel and Mitch" she said. She finally ran into the room where Crystal was. Vert turned to me

"I have one thing for you" he said. We walked back out into the grounds and around to the first of four ten car garages. He opened it to reveal five cars: The first was Reverb; the second an old wave ripper car presumably Vert or Lani's; the third was an upgraded battle spec; the fourth was a black car with red graphics which I assumed belonged to Wylde and the final car was a 1950 Ford Mustang completely customized in night black with Red and blue graphics.

"Whoa" was the word that escaped my mouth. Vert looked down at me

"that car is yours" He said indicating the Ford Mustang.

"What, how" I spluttered.

"Your father and I built it, we where going to give it you when you where sixteen but for obvious reasons that didn't happen" He said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"So the stangs mine" I said with a huge amount of awe in my voice. Vert nodded while handing me the keys,

"you can test drive it later more guests are arriving" He closed the garage.

We returned to the front of the house.

"Listen I want you to stay here for a while" he said extremely casually, 'that wasn't a casual question' I thought.

"But my team" I started, Vert cut me off

"they can stay to its just I've got a lot of racers coming" I nodded slowly

"I'll have to ask them, Crystal will want to assuming Kurt is staying" I answered. When we arrived at the front, there where two other cars parked, One of the people was messing with the supercharger on my dodge. I ran at him, Vert tried to hold me back but failed. The person at my car was a lot bigger than me but in martial arts size doesn't matter. I grabbed him around the throat and pulled him backwards, The guy from the other car tried to pull me off but I was holding fast swinging my legs around. The big guy managed to get me off and dropped me to the floor, he lifted his fist. I covered my face and then heard Vert shout

"Guys stop" I looked up to see the big guy looking towards Vert. Vert walked over

"Mark this is Tork Maddox" he said indicating the big guy I had tried to strangle "and Nolo Passaro" he said indicating the other guy, "and this is Mark Torreto" he finished indicating me.

"your nephew" the person known as Nolo said. I stood up

"My name is Zero" I said, Tork began to laugh.

"You're just like Wylde" he said with a slight twinge of anger in his voice.

"What did you do to my car" I said scornfully. He looked over me and then looked at my dodge challenger.

"Nothing, but who's the viper for a little girlfriend" he said sarcastically. Before I knew what had happened, I had hit him "Never talk about Crystal like that" I said through gritted teeth. Tork seemed ready to punch me back but then stopped

"Crystal, so you like Kurt's kid" Nolo said. Tork grabbed my hand and forced me to lower my arm.

"I'm sorry" I said "people have been insulting and annoying Crystal and I always stand up for her, I don't care who it's against" I continued. Tork nodded

"that's a worthy cause, so anyway this car is yours" he said.

"Yep, I did most of it, except the paint job that was crystals doing. I call it Hellhound Roar" Tork nodded. Nolo was looking around.

"So these are yours I assume" I stated while looking over the cars. Vert turned

"I think it's time we all went inside" We all walked inside, Vert was talking to Tork and I shook hands with Nolo.

We returned to the room we had been in before, when we entered Crystal ran over to me.

"We've been invited to stay here for a while, can we" she said while throwing her arms around me. I put my arm around her

"I know Vert told me, I'm going to there's things I need to know" I stated. We walked further into the room and sat down on a huge couch.

"So Mark" Kurt started, me and Wylde both turned to him. "my name is Zero" I said at the same moment as Wylde said

"My name is Wylde" Nolo turned to Vert

"I wasn't wrong was I" he stated, Wylde turned to him,

"Weren't wrong about what" Wylde sneered.

"he said that we are alike because neither of us uses our real name and our real names are almost the same" I answered. Wylde stared at me for a moment and then sat down next to Tork, Kurt turned to me once more

"I actually wanted to talk to you, I've heard that you have been protecting my daughter and I want to thank you for that" he said calmly. I looked at Crystal

"I have to protect my gir" I stopped suddenly "my friends" I stated. I looked at Crystal noticing that she had gone Red.

"It's Ok you don't need to hide it from me" Kurt said.

"We're not though, I've never asked" I said, a small hint of sadness crawled into my voice. I checked the clock at the end of the room 11.40. The guys would be showing up in 20 minutes. Kurt was continually looking at me, after two minutes I looked at him and waited for him to turn, the moment he did I said

"don't worry I'll take care of her" He turned back smiling, Crystal looked up at me. Wylde came over and sat on my other side,

"is that your dodge outside" he asked,

"which one blue or black" I stated

"The black Challenger"

"yeah that's mine"

"Did you do the job yourself" he asked

"No, Crystal did the paint" I answered, he leant closer to me

"You better take good care of her or else" He said staring at me evilly.

"I would anyway, before yesterday I didn't have anyone else to care about, now I have Vert and Lani" I replied. Wylde seemed taken aback. He then got up and walked across the room.

"Vert can I park my car in the garage" I said. Vert nodded,

"Tork, Nolo are you going to park your cars as well" Vert asked. They both nodded.

"you coming Crystal" I questioned. We both stood up and the four of us walked out to our cars. We all got into our cars, but no one started up as we saw a huge truck coming up the road. The truck stopped in front of us and three people got out, One was a scrawny man. The second was a guy wearing a white outfit with blue-black hair that was gelled up. The third got out he was huge and had a bone around his neck and two knuckle dusters on that had engraved in them PORK and CHOP. They walked over to us, All four of us stepped out of our cars. Nolo walked over to The guy in white "hi Shirako, how've you been man"

The guy called Shirako answered with one word "Yo"

Tork walked over to Porkchop and Monkey, "hi Guys" Porkchop looked at him

"are they all in there" Tork shook his head

"they haven't all turned up yet" he replied. Monkey was staring directly at me. I was leaning against my car with Crystal stood next to me. Monkey walked towards us, he walked past me and was looking at the external supercharger on my car.

"nice" he said casually.

"Aren't we parking our cars" I shouted. Everyone got back in there vehicles and we all drove around to the garages, we opened the second one me and crystal parked in there whereas the others parked in the first. We then returned to the front, I was talking to shirako.

"It controls the whole sound system on my car" he said indicating the device on his wrist

"it used to work on my old car Bassline but I gave that to my daughter and reprogrammed this to work with my new car Treblebass" he said.

"D'you think you could look over the system in my car some time" I asked he nodded but then put his headphones on and couldn't hear me anymore. I turned to Crystal who seemed to be in a strange mood.

"What's wrong" I asked quietly. She shook her head,

"It's nothing, I'm fine" she replied. I stopped her, the others continued walking.

"what is it, I don't like seeing you like this" I said, a tear slid down my face. "it's just he's my father and I never knew, I didn't even know my real name" she stated, I wiped the tears out of my eyes, "Crystal Wylde sounds cool" I said, she gave a small laugh and we carried on walking, we arrived at the front door and I saw two more cars, one in blue and one a strange shade of brown. They didn't stop at the front they both went around the side apparently to park their cars.

We returned to the room we had all been in, we sat down this time I was sat between Crystal and Vert. Two people came into the room, Vert stood up

"Hi Taro, Hi Karma" he said casually. Karma looked around the room and waved to everyone her eyes stopped on me and Crystal, Vert brought them both over. Karma sat down next to me, I was looking at her

"your Karma Eiss aren't you" I asked, she nodded

"but that still leaves the question, who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Mark Torreto, but preferably Zero Wheeler" She looked at me strangely.

"Johnny's son" she said quietly, Vert who was sat next to her

"yep" he replied. Karma looked around me,

"and who is this" she asked, Kurt turned to Karma

"This is my daughter Crystal" he stated. She looked over Crystal, but I wasn't paying attention. I was looking out of the window at several cars coming up the drive. Vert got up and so did I, we all walked outside there where about twenty cars coming up the drive. I recognized three of them. All the cars stopped, I ran forwards Crystal at my side,

"Zero, Crystal when did you get here" Rick said.

"We've been here for about half an hour" I stated realising what I had done.

"You lied to us" Chris said, He looked at me scornfully. Vert ran over to us

"It's my fault, I asked my nephew to come early and Crystals Father wanted her to come as well" Everyone from our team looked around strangely.

"Vert happens to be my Uncle" I stated. Vert looked around at the amount of cars.

"Everyone go and park your cars in the garages, "two teams are in each garage, the team names are on either side of the garage" Vert yelled over the noise. Everyone went and parked there cars. I looked around at everyone stood behind me, Karma was still staring at Crystal with a tear in her eye. I walked over to her leaving Crystal on her own.

"Karma can I talk to you for a second" She nodded wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

We walked around to the side of the house away from everyone. "Karma are you" I stopped for a moment "are you Crystal's mum" I asked. She looked over me

"that easy to tell," she muttered somewhat relieved.

"well why don't you tell her, I know what it's like to have no parents, and knowing that I have Vert and Lani there helped me" Karma seemed to be thinking it over

"but what if she doesn't accept me, because we left her" she said

"well that's none of my business, but I think she needs her mother right now" Karma nodded and we both walked back around. Everyone was still outside the door most of the racers had returned, Karma took Crystal away from the group. A smile came over my face. Kurt came over to me

"is she telling her" he asked. I nodded quickly,

"she was asking me who her mother was but I couldn't tell her I promised I wouldn't" I nodded once again, Kurt walked away as the rest of my team walked towards me.

"Well Zero, why didn't you tell us you where related to Vert" Rick asked,

"Because I didn't want people to know because they'd say my racing ability comes from him, but now I don't care who knows so I'm Zero Wheeler" I stated they all looked shocked but Rick reverted to his normal self almost immediately.

"Sorry for giving you a hard time but you said something about Crystal's dad so who is it" I shook my head.

"That's not for me to tell you, that's for her to tell when she gets back" I said. Vert then appeared next to us,

"where all heading inside are you coming along" Everyone nodded and headed in. I entered the main room at the back of the group and sat down on the nearest couch. Vert noticed me and began to talk,

"I have invited you here because there is about to be a great racing tournament unlike anything you've ever faced before. The winner will be bestowed with great honour and wealth. Before this tournament starts we will be staying here for a few days assuming that you wish to take part" he finished everyone began to talk. Crystal stood up and walked over to Kurt and Karma, I walked over to Vert and Lani. Lani hugged me once more and then Vert looked at me strangely.

"Vert I want to ask you a question" he nodded. "Was my father a racer"

"Yes and so was your mother, they actually met because of racing. They where two of the best racers I ever knew" he stated

"Who killed them" I asked the happiness left my heart and was replaced by pain.

"I don't know" I looked him dead in the eye

"Don't lie to me I'm not a kid, I want to know who killed my parents" I said louder this time. Some of the conversations around me stopped,

Vert looked around "I told you I don't know"


	5. Chapter 4

**Vehicle list**

Owner------Car's name---------------Car

Zero---------Hellhound Roar----------1973 Dodge Challenger r/t

--------------Zero Thunder------------1974 Ford Mustang

Crystal------Blizzard Storm-----------2002 Dodge Viper

Rachel-------Steel Fury----------------2004 Nissan 350Z roadster

Chris--------Crimson Streak-----------2000 Honda Civic

--------------Death Rage---------------2002 Vauxhall Vectra

Rick---------------Light streak---------2005 Dodge Neon

**Speed Radicals**

**Chapter 4**

"Who killed them" I asked the happiness left my heart and was replaced by pain. "I don't know" I looked him dead in the eye

"Don't lie to me I'm not a kid, I want to know who killed my parents" I said louder this time. Some of the conversations around me stopped, Vert looked around "I told you I don't know"

I turned and ran from the room nearly throwing the door to the floor as I went. I felt everyone in the room staring at me. I ran around to the garage. I didn't go for the stang it reminded me too much of my father. I went for my dodge, I got into the car and realised that I for the first time in my life I had no will to drive. I got behind my seats and fell to the floor. I lay there on the floor, the pain in my chest getting worse. I didn't hate Vert I was just angry at him, he wouldn't tell me although I could see that he knew who had done it. I had lay there for five minutes and I heard the garage open, not the door to this one the next one down. Vert had suspected I would have taken the stang. My blue hair was covering my face and especially my tears. Suddenly my car door opened, I was grabbed around my waist and I was being lifted out of my car. I swung my fist and my leg around catching one in the face and the other in the chest. They fell backwards dropping me "Will you just leave me alone" I yelled, I hit the button to electronically close and lock the doors. I had been sat there for two minutes, my phone began to ring. I reluctantly answered it, "hello" I said the sadness still running through my voice. "I'll tell you all you want to know" came Vert's voice. I was reluctant to leave my hiding space, but I raised myself up and swung my hair back, I didn't bother wiping the tears out of my eyes. I got out of my car and once again locked it, I walked slowly round to the front of the house. Vert was stood there waiting for me, He put his arm around me and we walked inside. He took me upstairs to a huge bedroom.

"I swore I'd never tell you this but these things happen, your mother and father wanted you to live a normal life, that's why you never found out about me, but the two people you knew as your parents weren't your birth parents. My brother Johnny and his Wife Sarah raised you like there own but you weren't there's. You are my son" I had been continually nodding at his story and it took me a few seconds to comprehend what he had said. "No, your not you can't be. Your name would have been on my birth certificate and it's not, I know its not, I've seen it" He got off the couch and walked towards the door. "Follow me" he said. We went up another flight of stairs, he took me to the end of the corridor. "Do you sill wear the necklace you've had since you where a baby" he stated, I lifted it up. The gold bullet with a silver tip. I handed it to Vert, he lifted an almost identical necklace. He then put both bullets into the door, an electric lock released and the door swung open. We both walked into the room, it contained old furniture, a baby's cot, a blue wallpaper covered with silver stars, a tiny hand print in silver. I walked over to the hand print and touched it, it was if hundreds of memories hit me at once.

**Flashback**

_A 2yr old Zero with short fair hair ran up to the wall where his father had been spray painting stars on through a stencil. He tripped and his hand landed in the silver paint. He got up slowly, his father helped him up. "Here son leave your mark on the room" his father said while putting his sons paint covered hand on the wall. _

**End Flashback**

I continued looking around the room being choked by memories, now I knew why Vert had acted so strange when I had first saw him. Then I saw it on the floor, in red crayon. The first word I had ever learned. Zero. I collapsed, my head hitting the laminate flooring. _I was driving, taking each corner perfectly, the other racers where miles behind all I had to do was finish it. I cut across an intersection, turned a corner and that's when I saw it another car came in front of me, my car hit it head on. My car flipped twice and landed on its roof. I slid out and began to run when my corolla exploded. I was launched forward. _I awoke a cold sweat over my body, "get out of there" I muttered to myself. The memory that still haunted me, the person who because of me being in a race had nearly lost there life. I got out of the bed realising I didn't know where I was, all I remembered was that I was in Vert's house. I needed to go for a walk and I needed my clothes. Conveniently the clothes I had been wearing under my racing outfit where on the chair next to my bed. I grabbed them and put them on: a set of baggy black jeans, a white t-shirt and my black flame shirt. I left the room realising it was the early hours of the morning. I heard someone walking downstairs, I snuck forwards and looked down to see Wylde going out of the front door. I ran after him, he was heading for the garages. He opened the first one, "where are you going" I said quickly, he turned with his fist raised. When he saw it was me he quickly hid his arm but I had already seen it. "A robotic arm" I stated slightly scared.

"An accident I had" he said, "anyway what are you doing up, I heard you fainted" He continued. I looked down at the floor "Vert told me he was my father and proved it as well, but that's not the point. Where are you heading" He looked around

"I have to go somewhere" He stated.

"I'll come with you I need a drive to set my mind at ease" Wylde shook his head. "No you won't my car only sits one person and unless you've got keys to another car in this garage cause all the others are locked" he said spitefully. I then laughed back at him "What are you laughing at" he said slightly confused.

"I do have keys to a car in this garage" I said

"What Vert lent you the keys to Reverb" He said still confused.

"No Vert and my father, I mean Vert and Johnny built the Mustang for my sixteenth birthday and now it's mine" I said walking over to my new car. "Hellhound Roar would be too loud anyway" I jumped into the stang and drove it out of the garage, Wylde did the same and then he jumped out and locked the garage. "Where are we heading" I asked casually. Wylde didn't answer he was looking at an upper window. "We have to go" he quickly jumped in his car and began to drive, I followed him. The gates began to close but we both managed to get through with no damage.

"Daddy and mommy are worried about you Mark" he said through the opened windows. Emphasising the last word. "Kurt's worried about you Markie better run home" I replied emphasising the word Markie. I saw him shaking his fist "The name is Wylde" he said anger in his voice. "The name is Zero, don't forget mine and I won't forget yours" I replied calmly. We drove for a short time arriving at the access point to the freeway. Suddenly two messages came through to my phone. "Wylde, Stop a minute" I shouted He looked at me strangely "Why what's wrong" he asked some sort of care in his voice. "Pull up a second" we stopped at the side of the road; he got out of his car and walked over to mine. "What's wrong Zero" he asked again. He opened the passenger door and got in, I checked my phone, the first text was off Vert. "You weren't wrong daddy is worried, but let's keep going" I checked the second text it was off Crystal. Wylde was just about to get into his car, "I've changed my mind I'm going back" I stated. He looked at me strangely

"Your not as crazy as I thought you where" he stated with a small laugh. "She wants you to go back as well" I stated, he looked back at me "Who" I started up my car and swung it around

"Crystal" I replied, I drove back to the house Vert's car Reverb was just about to leave. He stopped outside, I stopped my car inches from his. "Where did you think you where going" He asked me sternly, "I don't know ask Wylde, I only wanted to go for a drive what's wrong with that" I stated, he looked over me

"At least you listened and came back" he said calmer than before. I nodded, "I'm sorry dad but I had been out almost all day and I wanted to for a drive" I stated in the saddest voice I could muster, I then saw it in his eyes a hint of happiness. 'Was it because I had called him dad' I wondered. He nodded slowly, "you could have just told me" he replied. "You put me in a room, in a house that I don't know and expect me to find you" he seemed to realise he was beaten and got back into Reverb. We parked both of our cars in the garage, Wylde returned and parked his car as well and then we returned to the house.

When we got inside three people where stood there Crystal, Lani and a woman I hadn't seen before but I assumed she had something to do with Wylde by the look on his face. "dude, how do we get out of this" I whispered to Wylde, "we cant" he replied almost inaudibly. Lani walked over to me, I turned quickly but she grabbed my shoulder and turned me back around. "Where did you go" She asked

"Not very far" came my answer "and I don't know where we where going as I just went for a drive to clear my head" she looked at me evilly but her face lightened "next time tell us where your going" I nodded quickly. 'One down one to go' I thought, I looked around and realised while I had been talking Wylde and the other girl had left. Crystal looked at me "Stop worrying me like that, go to bed. I want to talk to you tomorrow" I returned to my room on the second floor. I closed my door but having no will for sleep I opened it again. I walked out of my room, I went to the end of the hall and saw Vert come out of his room. "Go back to bed" he said calmly. "No, I'm heading upstairs to that room, can I lend ur necklace" I pleaded. He nodded tossing the bullet to me, I walked up the next flight of stairs. I put both bullets into the door deactivating the lock the way Vert had. I walked into the room flicking on the light, this room held so many memories. I looked around the room properly seeing a picture on the wall. It was me when I was a year old with Lani and Vert. I should have been happy finally knowing who my parents are but that meant my life had been a lie. I sat down leaning against the wall, wondering why. I then turned towards the door preparing to leave, there was someone stood in the hall facing the room. I stood up quickly and ran to the door turning the light off, I then looked back towards the person stood there. She took a step towards me, it was Crystal. "So this is your home" she said softly. I didn't look at her, I continually stared past her. "well we both have parents now" she said calmly, she leant against me. I finally looked at her face. There where tears in her ice blue eyes but she was smiling, "We can be happy together now" I stated while moving my head closer to her. We turned and walked back downstairs, she went into her room whereas I continued downstairs and went outside.

I sat on the steps at the front of the house and leant back looking up at the thousands of stars. 'Well everything seems perfect' I thought. The door creaked open behind me, I turned quickly to see Shirako. He came over and sat down next to me, "Yo, couldn't sleep I guess" He stated.

"No, I was asleep all day and then kinda got everyone angry cause I went out driving" I said calmly, he was looking over me. "I used to get in the same sort of trouble, back when I first joined the Teku" My mind suddenly clicked.. "There's the link" I stated, Shirako looked at me "I couldn't piece together how everyone knew each other at first, I mean there are some from the world race. I forgot about the Teku and metal maniacs completely, suppose cause both teams vanished so suddenly" I stopped and looked at him, he smiled at me. "You sure know your history kid. How about I check your car now" he stated suddenly, producing the garage keys from his pocket. I nodded and we walked around to the side of the house. We silently opened the garage, I unlocked my car and we walked over to it. "Nice, you've put a lot into this haven't you" he said. I nodded and then opened the door and got in, Shirako did the same. He turned and looked into the back of my car, "hmmm" he said calmly. He got out of the car and left the garage, I jumped up and followed him. He opened the first garage to show his car Treblebass. I looked over it in awe, about 20 subs where attached perfectly in the back, he flicked open a panel. Underneath the installed subs there was a storage space containing more subs, amps and a lot of electrical wiring. He grabbed some of the wire an amp and three subs. He then walked out of the garage and back over to my car. I sat in my seat and watched him work, he took apart the system I had built. I was shocked but let him continue, He used the subs I had originally installed and fitted three more attached to two amps. "Finished" he said letting out a sigh,

"I'd test it but I'm sure people are asleep" I replied turning to the clock, 4.37. He nodded slowly, "So, you said you have a daughter, does that mean you're married as well" I asked. He nodded but said nothing, I assumed that it was a bad subject. We closed the garages and walked around back around to the front of the house. I saw his head turn out of the corner of my eye, "You ok" he asked.

"Yeah, why d'you ask" I replied, he shook his head and looked upwards at the sky "It's just everything that's managed to happen within such a short space of time its strange for you to be this calm". I was looking out to the horizon nodding slowly, the sun was just beginning to rise. "True but its all good things. Anyway I'm gonna head in for a shower" I said casually while standing up. "Ok I guess I'll see you later" he stated while still staring upwards.

I returned to my bedroom. After a few minutes I managed to find a towel, I went into the bathroom. I took off my clothes and got into the shower. I turned on the water, The hot water ran over me as I leant against the cold wall. I had been stood in their for about ten minutes not moving, I then finally decide to get washed. I had my wash and then jumped out of the shower. I got dry and put on my clothes again, I looked at my hair in the mirror it was wrecked. I ran around eventually finding a comb, I fixed my hair back to normal, and then returned to my bed. I lay down for a few minutes and then fell asleep. When I awoke the sun was shining through gaps in the curtains, I looked over at the clock, it was 10.30. I jumped up and ran out of my room, I went downstairs. Apparently only a few people where awake. I entered the kitchen, there where five people inside. I recognized Wylde and Shirako but the three others I didn't know. One noticed me and walked over "Hi my name's Josh, I'm the leader of the insane Conflicts team" he said. "My name's Zero, I'm from the Street Radicals" came my reply. "The other two are from my team as well" he said indicating the others in the room "That's Max and Leon" he said casually before returning to his team. I however walked over to Wylde, "You came back last night like a good little boy" I stated sarcastically.

"I noticed you did as well" He said back with a small laugh.

"Hey three people wanted me to come back, I couldn't say no to that many people" I replied.

"More like you couldn't say no to my niece" he answered, I nodded slowly giving him an evil glare. "Nothing wrong with that" I muttered, Wylde held out his fist, I hit it with my own before walking past him to Shirako. He was once again listening to music, moving in time with the beat. I stood there waiting to see if anything happened. After five minutes I decided to leave. I returned to my car and sat down waiting.


	6. Chapter 5

**Vehicle list**

Owner------Car's name---------------Car

Zero---------Hellhound Roar----------1973 Dodge Challenger r/t

--------------Zero Thunder------------1974 Ford Mustang

Crystal------Blizzard Storm-----------2002 Dodge Viper

Rachel-------Steel Fury----------------2004 Nissan 350Z roadster

Chris---------Death Rage--------------2002 Vauxhall Vectra

Rick-----------Light streak-------------2005 Dodge Neon

**Speed Radicals**

**Chapter 5**

I had sat in hellhound roar for about half an hour messing with the cars internal functions. My laptop was flashing up different screens, I continued typing in command lines. I heard the door of my car open, I looked up for a brief moment and then finished typing, I finally looked up properly. Crystal had sat down in the car,

"Hi" I said while putting my arm around her. She looked at me carefully

"So why did you actually faint yesterday" She asked,

"I fainted because I found out the truth about my past" I replied, the hint of sadness returning to my voice. She looked over at me

"Come inside Vert wants to speak to you" She said calmly.

"I want to speak to him as well" I replied sternness running through my voice. We both got out of the car, I locked it and then we both walked around the building

"please don't get angry again" she said quietly, I looked at her "When you got angry you ended up hitting Nolo and Tork" I remembered hitting the two people.

"It's not only my fault, I wanted to be alone" I stated. Crystal shook her head, we entered the house and returned to the kitchen, there where a lot more people now. Vert saw me enter and walked quickly towards me,

"Listen son, I need to talk to you" he whispered. I nodded quickly and left the room, Vert followed me, "I'm sorry about yesterday and I'm sorry I made you come back but I know how you race and I was extremely worried about you" He said,

"Your brother and sister, how did they die" I asked. Vert looked towards me

"They where in a car crash, they where each driving there own car, two other cars skidded into them pinning them together, they hit a wall and" he stopped not able to tell anymore.

"Well we finally have each other again" I stated smiling slightly,

"And me" A voice came from the kitchen, I turned quickly to see Lani. She wrapped one arm around each of us. I feel so different, 'I now have a family' I thought.

"Can I take the Stang for a proper test drive" I asked, Vert seemed to be thinking but then he reluctantly nodded. I walked back into the kitchen. I walked around to the garage to see Shirako stood there looking over his car.

"Hi" I said casually, He turned quickly taking off his headphones. "Yo" he said quickly, he was about to put his headphones back on, when I asked

"Shirako people are awake now, can I see what you where talking about this morning"

He shook his head

"everyone's gonna get to see it later, Vert's asked me to show everyone before dinner" He replied. I nodded and walked into the garage unlocking my Ford Mustang on the way. I jumped in and quickly started it up and revved the engine. It wasn't a huge noise but you could still feel the power, I drove out of the garage and headed towards the gates. They opened in front of me, I drove straight down the road in front of the house. I took a few turnings and arrived on the abandoned highway. I raced down it quickly shifting up a gear. I hit fourth gear and was already doing 130. I could now tell that this car had been custom built by good racers. The final three gears held for a lot longer than normal, giving me more time to concentrate on driving. I quickly flicked a switch and activated the CD player. A quick beat came from behind me, The beat forcing me to drive with its rhythm. The unmistakable sound of Disturbed, meaning of life. I arrived at the other end of the highway in fifth gear, I quickly pulled to one side and pulled the opposite way putting on my handbrake for a brief moment. I had stopped parallel to the edge of the highway an almost perfect 180 spin. I shut off the engine and sat back realising how lucky I was, in a brief moment I had gained everything. I turned and looked into the back of the car, there was no NOS to be seen. So Vert had been so worried about me that he had removed the NOS tanks, the car had a NOS enabled steering wheel but no NOS to run through it.

I then noticed another switch under the radio, I flicked it but nothing happened. I flicked it again with the same result, I shrugged and leant back into my seat. I began to drive again, after a short while I arrived at the other end of the highway looking out onto the ocean. I looked out at the sight. I then heard a car approaching. The unmistakable noise of hellhound roar.

"Someone's coming in my car" I stated. I stepped out of the car and looked towards the source of the noise. There was a black spec in the distance, it was quickly getting closer. The car was extremely close now, it skidded but went to far and stopped two metres away from my other car. 'knew I needed another set of tires' I thought.

I walked up to it and wrenched the door open, Wylde was sat there smiling strangely at me.

"What are you doing in my car" I shouted,. He looked over me and laughed.

"That still doesn't answer. What your doing in my car" he looked at me and then shrugged

"I wanted to test drive the thing you said was so good. He looked over the car, and then turned back to me "I hate the music though" he gave a small laugh. I shook my head and leant inside turning on the CD player, techno music blared out.

"Shirako was editing my system last night" I said calmly. I hit the panel under the CD player to reveal a number of switches. I pushed the second one, the CD changed and Disturbed blared through the speakers. Wylde nodded

"that's more like it" he stated.

"How about a race" I asked staring him dead in the eye, He nodded lining up with an old racing line on the road. I jumped back in my car. Wylde leant out of my car

"Back to Vert's place", he said "three…two…one…go" he shouted to me. We both raced off the line, we where neck and neck for a short time. I flicked on the speakers, Eve 6 music blared out of the speakers. I put my foot down. Wylde put his foot down, the new engine I had put in really was good. He over took me laughing, I shifted up into fourth and slammed my foot to the floor. I quickly turned off the highway onto a small road I had driven on before, I followed the normal roads, using the strangely good manoeuvrability of my mustang. It drifted extremely well. I continued to take the normal streets knowing that the highway went two far right and you had to double back on yourself. So I took the direct route back to my father's house. I arrived and parked the stang in the garage. I walked around to the front to see Wylde leaning on my car looking towards the gate. I snuck up behind him

"Who're you waiting for" I shouted, he turned quickly and stared at me.

"I won" I stated with a small laugh, he gave me an evil look

"you are good kid" He said. I walked inside and looked around. The house appeared to be deserted.

"hello" I yelled, There was no reply, "hello" I yelled even louder. I heard a door open somewhere ahead of me,

"don't be so loud" came Lani's voice.

"Sorry mum, where is everyone" I asked, she pointed to the door she had came through. I walked towards the door, there was a set of stairs leading down to the basement. I walked down wondering what was going on, We arrived in a huge open area, there was a huge orange track in front of us. I saw Vert stood near his Reverb, I walked over, stopping when I saw the other racers, I leant against the wall listening to Vert. He noticed me when I was a few metres away from him,

"welcome back" he said. "As I was saying, this track leads to the wheel of power. The wheel of power leads to the racing realms, this is where our races will take place. There are dangers here though as there are racing drones. They are robots that where built to drive in these realms. They are extremely dangerous and will try to win at all costs, if you want to leave you are free to do so but these are the ultimate races. If you quit you won't get another chance" he stopped talking and looked around.

"What's in it for us" a racer shouted out. Vert looked at him

"a chance to meet the Accelerons as I have done" he replied. No one else said anything, "we can now return upstairs, this room will be locked until the day that the first realm will open. Which happens to be two days from now"

We all went upstairs and Vert locked the door, he turned to me "Good to see you arrived" He said sarcastically. I took Vert's necklace from around my neck and handed it to him, no one had been watching but I still wondered how long it would take for the other racers to find out. He put it back around his neck and was looking over me.

"Now you know why I asked you to come here, I didn't know it was you at first but I got a picture and knew it was you instantly. That was the same day I came to see you" I looked at him carefully, "

at least I know that I'm a good racer to be chosen by you before you knew who I was" I stated calmly. He nodded at me slowly,

"you are a good racer, I got the best teams from all over the state. Once I had found out who they where I got pictures of everyone, I had sent off letters to the fastest person in each team but then I got the pictures. I saw yours and recognized you immediately, I had found you but not in the way I wanted to. I had tried to find you ever since you left home but couldn't" He said is voice shaking slightly. "

I'm here now and I'm going to beat those drones" I said confidently. Vert looked over me,

"your going to need to get along with the other teams then, team work will help you win" he stated before waking away.


	7. Chapter 6

**Vehicle list**

Owner------Car's name---------------Car

Speed Radicals

Zero---------Hellhound Roar----------1973 Dodge Challenger r/t

--------------Zero Thunder------------1974 Ford Mustang

Crystal------Blizzard Storm-----------2002 Dodge Viper

Rachel-------Steel Fury---------------2004Nissan 350Z roadster

Chris---------Death Rage--------------2002 Vauxhall Vectra

Rick----------Light streak-------------2005 Dodge Neon

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Insane conflicts

Josh---------Avarice------------------2004 Toyota Celica

Max----------Razor-------------------2002 Toyota Supra

Leon---------Wreckage--------------2002Mitsubishi lancer Evo VII

Tina----------Demon-----------------2005 Lotus Exige 240R (Yellow)

**Speed Radicals**

**Chapter 6**

I had returned to my room after my talk with Vert, I fell down onto my bed. 'I've never been in team racing, I race alone, always alone' I thought. My door suddenly opened, Wylde stood there staring at me. He walked over to me closing the door behind him, "you're worried aren't you" he stated staring at me, I looked up and nodded. "I've never raced as a team properly before, I have always raced alone" I stated sadly, Wylde gave a small laugh. He looked over me "I used to be like you, I didn't need anyone else. That changed when I got captured, Kurt saved me" he looked out of the window and let out a sigh. "Yeah but you're ok now and I will race as a true team" I stated. I stood up and left the room.

I walked slowly down the stairs to see Vert stood talking to Josh from the insane conflicts team. "You're going to be going in first if that's ok with you" Vert said slowly, Josh nodded and then walked briskly away. I jumped the last few steps and landed next to Vert "why is it that they get to go in first" I asked sceptically. Vert shook his head "they're not going in alone, your teams going in with them. I asked Chris this morning and he agreed" he stated, he looked over me carefully "be careful" he said with a hint of sadness running through his voice. I looked back at him and smiled "I'll be fine don't worry" came my quick response. I walked around to the garages to see 8 people stood in the one my car was in. I stepped into the small crowd to realise it was my team and the other team that was entering the realm.

"What's going on guys" I asked sceptically as I walked into the group. Chris turned around, "we're all installing these EDR devices in our cars" he replied quickly. Vert had been stood somewhere far back and moved into the light "your Mustang already has one installed, but you might want to put one in the dodge" I nodded slowly in reply. "What do these things do" I whispered to Chris. He turned to me "If we can't finish a realm they let us escape" he replied quickly before turning back to Vert. After twenty minutes of installing devices all our cars where finally ready. Everyone returned to the house except myself and Josh. I looked over at him "Yo Josh, nice car" I wasn't joking either, Celica's weren't the fastest or nicest looking cars but he had worked wonders with this. He turned to me "you're not doing to bad yourself" he laughed. I smiled back at him "you think we can win this realm." He nodded with a devious smile on his face.

I took the two sets of keys out of my pockets, "hmm" I muttered. I got in my Ford Mustang and drove to the front of the house. I went into the house, I found my father in the hall. "When does the realm start" I asked. Vert checked his watch "in an hour."

I nodded and turned "I'm going taking the stang out again"

Vert nodded and then replied "be careful." I drove to the highway and began to speed up. I turned casually following the rhythm of the highway. I turned on the CD player and began to focus on my driving. I shifted up a gear getting used to the feel of my new car.

I arrived at Vert's with ten minutes left. I drove my car onto the front where there where all my teams cars and all of the insane conflicts team's cars. I pulled up and smiled to my team,

"hi guys, are you ready" I stated, everyone turned and smiled. A piece of road on the drive suddenly began to shift revealing a ramp down into what I assume is the races start line. 'Am I ready' I wondered. Both teams lined up on either side of the drive, our team line up was Me, Crystal, Rachel, Rick and Chris. The insane conflicts lined up as Josh, a girl who I didn't know, Leon then Max. Vert stepped out of the front door. "Now listen, the order you enter the realm in is as follows: Zero; Josh; Crystal; Tira; Rachel; Leon; Rick; Max and then Chris. So everyone make sure you follow the right car. This is just to make sure you all get onto the track safely. This ramp" He indicated the whole in his drive. "Leads to the orange track you saw. When you get on the track it will speed up your car, don't try and steer too much because the track will carry you safely, all you need to do is accelerate. When you enter the realm start driving immediately. The track may split, if it does choose your direction and go for it. If at any point you get into trouble that you can't handle push the EDR..." Shirako and Porkchop appeared near Vert. "We advise slowing down if possible" They both stated, Vert looked at them both "We hope no one needs to use the EDR as this then means your car is lost" Everyone suddenly looked around worried, I however had no fear. I could win, I would win. Vert coughed loudly regaining everyone's attention. "Remember the drones may be in the realm if they are avoid them at all costs. If you get the chance to destroy one do it, because leaving them means they will learn how you drive quickly. Finally, when I tell you enter in the order I said down this ramp, when you get on the track accelerate and just let the course take you round. Be careful" he finished his speech.

I looked over at Josh and smiled at him, he returned my smile lowering his window as I did the same. "You better be ready to get smoked" he yelled. "Not while I've got this" I yelled back, tapping my mustang. I looked over at Vert, he was staring at his watch. I revved my engine a few times, every one else copied me. I laughed quietly. Suddenly Vert spoke again "get ready!" he yelled. "3…2…1…Go!!" came another yell from my father. I shifted into gear and launched forwards. I looked in my rear-view mirror for a brief moment to see Josh behind me. I shifted into second gear, MY eyes constantly monitoring my rpm's. I saw the orange track appear. The moment my car touched it I was launched forward. I shifted into third and then fourth within almost a second. I looked down at my rpm's once more, 7000. I shifted up into fifth gear. I turned the steering wheel only an inch or so to keep my car directly in the center of the track. I looked down once again to read 300mph. "what the…?" I muttered. I looked up just in time to see the three rings that held a blue orb in the middle. "The portal" I stated, I shifted up into sixth gear. A moment later I was launched into the air, hitting the portal.

I landed on the other side of the portal slowed down by my landing. I down shifted twice. I was sent onto the track, my eyes gazing down to see 160mph. I took a quick glance at my surroundings. "A light grey sky, an orange track and nothing else. How does this test my driving skill?" I shrugged and accelerated. I looked forward to see the road split into three. "The road splits, I'm going right" I stated into the mic. I took the right fork. I shifted up and continued driving. A drop of water landed on my windscreen, followed by another and another. "Rain" I smiled, I put my foot down once more. "This is too easy" I muttered quietly as I drove easily along the track. My hands moved, easily turning the wheel. All of a sudden the rain got heavier, the thundering noise on my roof got louder. I let my foot off the accelerator a little, 'got to play this carefully' came the single thought. I pushed down on the accelerator slightly, slowly moving it by half a centimetre at a time. I shifted up and continued driving, I took the next corner. My car began to slide. My eyes widened, immediately I began to counteract the forces controlling the slide.

My driving had become more erratic than usual. I wasn't used to drifting heavy cars like this. My eyes gazed ahead, a black and green car, "drones" I stated. My assumption appeared to be correct. I accelerated a little more attempting to catch up with this so called threat. I drove up on its left, the drone swung sideways to ram me, it hit me but could hardly move my heavy car. I looked forwards and smiled. The road curved to the left I moved my car right pushing the drone away from me. I then took a wide drift on the corner sending the drone off the track. I quickly righted my car and began to speed onwards. The road began to get wider, I looked further up the track to see the portal. A smile came over my face as I put my foot down once more. I looked in my mirror to see a drone chasing me, his tires glowed for a moment, I put my foot to the floor. Suddenly he rammed me, the back right of my car. It began to slide sideways, I tried to control the slide but failed. My car did a full 180. I managed to hit the drone as he attempted to pass me. I turned my car around slowly on the wet road. Only to see another drone pass me. He went straight through the portal. I punched my steering wheel, I sat there thinking. All the other racers passed me.

After what felt like an eternity I accelerated and shot through the portal myself. Landing in the room we began in, everyone else was sat there in their cars. I however didn't stop I carried on driving, straight up the ramp and back outside. I skidded to a halt when a black car blocked my way. "What do you want Wylde?" I yelled. The door of the car opened and Wylde stepped out. "wasn't as easy as you thought to win was it kid?" he stated. I accelerated and drove around him. I drove the length of the freeway turned and drove back. It had taken me a total of eight minutes to get back with a clear head. I parked my car and walked back inside, Vert stood talking to some other people. I waited for him to finish. The moment he did I walked over to him. "I'm sorry, I failed" I stated. Vert looked over me, "son you didn't do anything wrong…" I cut him off. " I could've won, I know I could've won" I replied. He shook his head "if it was that easy to win, they wouldn't be the ultimate races" he stated before walking away.

I went into the kitchen, Josh stood in there leaning back. He saw me enter, "hey Zero" he stated with a half hearted smile. I smiled back. "you ok?" he asked looking over me. I nodded

"yeah, why?" came my swift reply.

He shrugged "you just seemed weird at the end of the realm" He went to the fridge and grabbed two drinks offering me one. I took it gladly and began to drink.

"I nearly won" I stated, Josh looked at me.

"I saw what happened, I guess the drones take advantage of every condition, including the loss of traction" came his statement. I nodded and began to think for a moment.

"Not like we where really prepared" I then remembered something "the tires, they could change them to suite the situation" I stated. Josh's eyes widened,

"I saw them do that too, its like they can constantly have the advantage no matter what the condition" After a short while I left the kitchen to find my dad.

I found him in the portal room. "Dad" I yelled as I walked towards him. He turned and looked at me

"what is it son?" came a brief reply. I looked at him strangely, "What's with the drones tires?" I questioned.

"They can change to match the road condition, we have some for the racers but they're not ready yet".

I merely nodded, "when's my next realm?" came another question. My father thought for a moment. It'll be tomorrow evening, at the moment many realms are opening. There is one more today and three tomorrow" he stated. I nodded once more and left the room. My fist connected with the wall,

"I should've won that realm" came my words. I walked outside and sat as usual on the steps, I looked out at the sun which was beginning to set. I walked around to the garages and got in my mustang. I raced out of the gates and headed towards the town.


End file.
